What Is Faith? (Part Two)

By Bob Myhan

The word, “faith,” is some­times used to mean “a mere men­tal assent.” But this is not “saving faith.”

“Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:42,43).

They “believed in Him” but they would not “confess Him.” This is “a mere mental as­sent” to the truth that Jesus is the Messiah. We know it is not “saving faith” because Jesus said we must confess Him before men if we want Him to confess us before His Father (Matt. 10:32-33).

An­other reason we know this is not “saving faith” is that faith, if it is unaccompanied by works, is “dead.”

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O fool­ish man, that faith without works is dead? (James 2:14-20)

The word translated “dead,” in James 2:20, means “barren, yielding no return, because of in­activity.” (Vine’s Complete Ex­pository Dictionary of Old and New Testa­ment Words, page 51) James con­tinues to write,

“You see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only” (2: 24).

Thus, while one must give mental as­sent to the proposition, Jesus is the Son of God, in order to have life in His name (John 20:30-31), merely giving mental as­sent to the truth of that proposition is not sufficient for salvation; it is not “saving faith.”

The Bible mentions at least three different degrees of faith. First, there is "dead faith," mentioned above. This is mere mental assent unaccompanied by works of obedience (James 1:21-25; 2:14-20).

Second, there is “little faith,” which be­gins to work but, for vari­ous reasons, does not con­tinue to work (Matt. 14:25-31). This is the same as be­ing “weak in faith” (Rom. 4:19). It is the faith of those who “believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away” (Luke 8:13). Or of those who “are choked with cares, riches, and pleas­ures of life, and bring no fruit to matur­ity” (Luke 8:14).

Third, there is “great” or “perfect” faith, which continues to work “to the sav­ing of the soul” (Matt. 8:5-10; 15:28; Heb. 10:26-39). This is the faith Abraham had, as pointed out by James.

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith work­ing together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham be­lieved God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only (James 2:21-24).

This is the faith of which Paul writes,

 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1).

As a matter of fact, Paul both begins and ends the epistle to the Romans referring to “the obedience of faith” (1:5; 16:25-26), which is action that flows out of trust.

When Paul writes “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteous­ness” (Rom. 4:3), he was not speaking of “mere mental assent” but of “trust.” This becomes even clearer when we consider the following from Hebrews.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was go­ing. By faith he dwelt in the land of prom­ise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.... By faith Abra­ham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son (11:8, 9, 17).

Thus, Abraham obeyed because he trusted God, which by the way is the same point James was making in the portion of his epistle quoted above.

The word “faith” is also used in several passages to mean, “what is be­lieved, the contents of belief, the ‘faith’” (Vine, p. 222).

Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. But they were hearing only, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy (Gal. 1:21-23).

 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disci­ples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7).

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write unto you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once deliv­ered to the saints (Jude 3).

Some translations have “obedience to the faith” in Rom. 1:5 and/or Rom. 16:26, but this would not nullify the point that was made on those verses. Inasmuch as “the faith” demands “obedient faith,” the expres­sion, “obedience to the faith,” is the equiva­lent of “the obedience of faith,” so the out­come is the same. &

Do You Know the Shepherd?

The banquet hall was filled. To speak for the occasion, a renowned orator had been brought in. After a won­derful meal, he mesmerized the crowd with his voice as he recited poetry and famous selections of speeches.

Near the end of the program, he asked if anyone had a favorite selection that they would like for him to recite. From the back of the room, an old man stood and kindly asked if he would mind reciting the 23rd. Psalm. The speaker said that he would be glad to do it if, when he was finished, the old man would recite it as well. The old gen­tleman nodded his head and sat back down.

In a beautifully trained voice that reso­nated throughout the great room, the speaker began, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures..." When he finished, there was thunderous applause and a standing ovation.

He then looked at the old man and said, "Alright sir, it is your turn now." In a trem­bling voice that was cracked by time, the old man began to recite, "The Lord is my Shep­herd, I shall not want...." It is said that when the old man finished, there was no ap­plause, but neither was there a dry eye in the building.

After the event, someone asked the fa­mous speaker what he thought produced the difference in the responses from the crowd. The speaker paused, thought for a moment and said, "I know the 23rd. Psalm, but that man knows the Shepherd.

Do you know the Shepherd?  Author un­known...From Exhortations & Stuff....Whit Sasser. (The Reminder, Vol. 5, No. 25) &